Q&A: Platonism
Platonism
Question
Hello and blessings. A question that came to me after finishing the series on Platonism:
I agree with the whole line of argument, and I also identify as a Platonist. My question is about the boundaries of the Platonic field: it is clear that democracy is an entity with certain characteristics, but is everything like that? What about a leaf, an atom, plastic, or a jungle (natural products), and likewise a table, a building, or a bag (artificial products), and so on? If all of these are entities, doesn’t that create an “inflation” of entities?
And what does all this mean regarding reduction? Water, for example, is H2O, and a leaf is composed of xxx molecules (some substances). If the answer to the first question is that a leaf is indeed an entity with certain characteristics, then are the molecules from which the leaf is composed characteristics of the leaf?
I hope my questions are understandable, and if not, let me know and I’ll rephrase them.
Answer
I think I addressed this. Obviously there can be concepts that we created that have no correlate in reality (in the world of ideas). Sometimes there is a sense that a concept is of this kind, and sometimes it is of this kind even without such a sense.
I didn’t understand your question about composite objects like water. It may be that oxygen and hydrogen are Platonic, and water is as well. A democratic state is also a complex concept that has several components. That does not force the conclusion that it has no ideal existence.
Discussion on Answer
Change and dispute are two indications, but they are a result of a Platonic conception of the concept. The conception itself is a direct intuition.
Got it, thanks!
What you answered in the second part is exactly the answer I was looking for, thanks.
As for the first part, in the series you brought two diagnostics for checking where we stand regarding a certain concept (a dispute over a concept, and a change in a concept). Is the only way to know that a certain concept has no correlate in reality (or that it does) through those two criteria?
For example, regarding a jungle, there is a strong sense that this is a Platonic concept, and the same goes for an atom. Regarding a table, I don’t know, and regarding a guitar I’m pretty torn.